Cheers Goldie
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
It's all gone quiet down this way too
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
Good job I'm behind on my posts
The Devenish 21-09-2014
This was one of those stolen hours of peace in a hectic and full on weekend. What with eczema creeping up my arm and one eyelid also cracked and itchy/sore I really needed a break from all the stress of endless marking and planning that comes from work during the first term back. So I was lucky enough to escape for an hour or so over the lunchtime to The Devenish.
Once there I headed up the short path and over the gate to the small paddock area. Straight away I found some butterflies with both a Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell doing a brief fly by. The Peacock landed but only long enough for a quick approach a couple of distant shots and then it was away again. Something higher up in the surrounding tree caught my eye which became a Red Admiral and when I stood back it was suddenly apparent that the one was actually three!
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As I was enjoying the trio of Red Admirals an orangey butterfly bombed in and disturbed one of them – a Comma. It landed and then standing back and craning my neck to see it in repose again revealed another, this one slightly higher up and overseeing his lair below. Slightly lower down a Red Admiral was also watching over it’s airspace it was almost as if they’d divided the column of airspace up into chunks – airspace partitioning. Over at the gate there was a third Comma which was much lower down and just in reach if I balanced on the gate, locking my feet around the bars. Luckily a Specklie hove into view, hassled the Comma and made it take off so it landed even lower down and much more in reach.
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From the Paddock I moved up through the tree covered tunnel and over the gate into the Orchid Meadow. An angry orange blur metamorphosed into a Small Copper and a Blue Badge one at that. Also here was a worn Common Blue which despite putting on a good show of nectaring didn’t appeal as it was so worn and faded I kept finding my lens being pulled back to the BB Small Copper
I carried on up to the Bramble area which was very quiet now
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
and on up the Down pleased with the days tally; six species and counting although there was very little flying. I skirted along the lower slope along the edge of the taller vegetation and the sun came out and with it the butterflies. There was one and then another Small Copper which would settle for a few moments before one would take off and hassle the other, a pattern which continued until all the time I was there. Whilst here a Small Heath and Large White both flew by and a Brown Argus stopped for a while, catching the light on its fading wings. Up on the very top of the down yet another Small Copper was fluttering by, ragged wings tips hinting at its vintage and it then raced down the side of the hill, possibly to hassle the pair below.
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- Old timer
Back in the Orchid field as I headed homeward there was yet another Small Copper a Brown Argus, possibly the same as earlier (although the Blue Badges seemed different?) and all to soon I was back in the car and heading back to reality...
Have a goodun
Wurzel